Prue's Blue
by Werewolff
Summary: Second backstory to Future shock.  Prue battles post partum depression and a demon


Prue's Blues 

DISCLAIMER: Prue, Piper and Phoebe Halliwell, Andy Trudeau and all other characters who have appeared in the series "Charmed" together with the names, titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of Aaron Spelling, E. Duke Vincent, and the Warner Brothers Television Network. Mutant Enemy owns Willow Rosenberg and all other Buffy charters. No copyright infringement was intended in the writing of this fan fiction. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are mine.

Author's Note: This is set in early 2004 and is a back-story to my other fanfic, "Future Shock" Shawn Wolff belongs to me. I make reference to a few films and other series; I have never had, am not now, nor will ever claim ownership of them. Only the original three are used in these stories.

Saturday, January 17th 

"Oh, this is sooooooooo cute!" Prue gushed as she opened the gift from Piper. "Hers and hers blankets and bibs. Thank you."

"You're welcome." Piper replied.

"This one is from me." Phoebe handed over a large box.

"What is it?" Prue asked as she tore off the blue wrapping paper. "A refrigerator bottle rack and a dozen bottles."

"I saw that at the baby store and thought 'Prue'." Phoebe handed over another, much smaller, box. "This is from Shawn."

"It's a car key," Prue was puzzled.

"It's the key to your new mini-van. Come on, I'll show it to you." The three sisters walked outside to look at the mini-van in the driveway. "Shawn and I each added our own little touches to it. I had them add the family travel pack, this is the coolest thing."

"Shawn got me minivan?" Prue still didn't believe it.

"Yeah, there's a ten disc CD changer in the center console next to the built in DVD player, and right here's the 15 inch fold out screen." Phoebe pointed out all the features. "And there's plug-in jacks for most video game systems. And here's where the coolest features I think, built in child seats. For when the girls get older."

"What did Shawn do to this van?" Piper asked.

"Shawn had his people put in the 'Presidential' package. This van weighs almost 1000 pounds more than the factory model, due to the beefed up suspension system, small block V8 engine, and the class II armor."

"Big van, big aunt Prue." 3 year-old Melinda Wyatt said.

"Melinda, that's not very nice." Piper scolded the girl.

"It's okay Melinda, it just means is more of me to love you." Prue said, trying to stop Melinda from crying. "Tell Shawn I love the van."

"He knew you could use a bigger car." Phoebe said. "I told him he didn't have to but you know Shawn."

"When is your due date?" Piper asked, changing the subject.

"The doctor said the 26th of February."

"Is Steve delivering them?" Phoebe inquired.

"Not unless I need a C-section, but he's going to be right there with me."

"Sorry." Melinda held her arms around for a hug.

Picking up the toddler Prue said "It's alright Sweetie, I am pretty big. So, when are you going to start a family Pheebs?" Prue rocked her niece.

"Not until after I finish school. That's going to be at least two years."

"You should try it, the only downside is you become as big as a cow."

"Cow go moo." Melinda burst out laughing.

"Moo." Prue started laughing too.

"Wanna take it for a spin?" Phoebe asked, opening the driver's side door.

"Ya, to the Dippy Whip for some Ice cream." Prue managed to get her oversized frame behind the wheel.

Sunday February 29th, 2004

"What the hell did you get me into Steve?" Prue yelled as another contraction hit.

"You were there, too. You're doing great Prue." Steve said for the hundredth time.

"The head's crowning, Mrs. Carter, one more push and this will be half over." The doctor said.

Prue inhaled and pushed. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes from the strain; tears of joy soon replaced these as her first daughter cried out.

"One more time, just like that." The doctor encouraged as he handed the crying infant to a nurse.

Their second daughter was soon screaming, music to Prue and Steve's ears.

"Prue, they're beautiful." Steve handed one of the girls over to Prue. "Just like their mom."

"You mean what's left of her. I'm a mess." Prue comforted the wailing new born as the doctor stitched up a small tear.

"Mrs. Carter, we need to do some routine tests on your girls." The head nurse said, motioning for the babies.

"Steve?" Prue looked concerned.

"It's alright Prue. Strictly routine stuff. Blood typing, Rh factor, footprints, weight, length, that sort of thing." He assured her. "I'm going to tell the others, see you in little bit."

"All right." Prue yawned, "I'm going to get a nap."

"How is she?" Piper asked as Steve removed the surgical scrubs.

"All three are doing fine. Prue's exhausted, but she should be okay with little sleep." Steve told everyone.

"Dr., are you referring to ' The Leap Year' twins?" A reporter was shoving a microphone into Steve's face.

"That's confidential patient information." Steve turned back to his in-laws.

"Dr.," the reporter persisted.

"Can I see your hospital press pass?" Shawn asked

"Are you the father?" The pushy reporter turned the camera on Shawn.

"Your pass please." Shawn repeated himself.

"Dr., we need a word on the twins. Their in-laws are some of San Francisco's most notibles."

"You can have two, 'No Comment.' Would you please leave." Steve turned to head back into the maternity ward.

"Dr., the viewers want to know about this rare occurrence."

"Security." He looked at Shawn.

While Securtech's primary mission statement was corporate protection, it had branched out into pharmacological research and computer technologies. The expansions had been out of necessity; more than once a situation had called for a custom design or a new device. The company's first new drug had replaced a whole class of local anesthesia.

Shawn stepped in from the camera and looked to the reporter, "You are ordered to leave the hospital."

"Piss off. I have freedom of the press. "

"And I have a contractual obligation to provide security for this facility. You can leave on your own, or I can have my men remove you."

"Follow me." The reporter ordered his cameraman as he shoved past Shawn.

Shawn spoke into a shirtsleeve, and then grabbed the cameraman by the shoulder; "This is last time I ask you ' leave the building'."

"Ah, Mr. Block. Maybe we should listen to him."

"I sign your paycheck, so you listen to me." Block barked.

"Sir, we' re here to escort you to your car." The point man said as the four-man team intercepted the reporter.

"I'm not going… Hey let go of me." Block yelled as two large man grabbed his arms and started dragging him towards the parking lot. The point man motioned for the cameraman to follow.

West, the point, stayed behind to talk to Shawn.

"So boss, we got them out, but what about the tape?"

"What tape?" Shawn asked as he pulled the cassette from behind his back.

"How did you get that?" West asked.

"I never showed you guys how to pick a camera? Remind me to on Monday."

"Still the fastest hands in the world." Phoebe wrapped her arms around her husband.

"Second fastest, can I have my wallet back?" Shawn kissed her.

"How did you know?" Phoebe asked as she handed over the brown leather bi-fold.

"I have many skills." Shawn grinned.

"Later."

Shawn just grinned.

"How's my three favorite ladies?" Steve asked as he entered the room.

"Tired and hungry." Prue was feeding one, while the other slept. "I'll be doing better when they get their act together. One's always up."

"Give them some time. How are you holding up?" Steve looked over her chart.

"I'm exhausted, weak, and I hurt in places that I didn't even know I had." She burped the baby. "Very good Julie." She said in 'Motheresse'.

"Julie?"

"Yes, Julie Marie and Jennifer Ann. Just like we discussed."

"The 'Double J' girls." The new parents both laughed.

Wednesday April 7, 2004

"Hello." Phoebe answered the phone.

"Phoebe, I need your help." Prue nearly yelled into the phone.

"I'll be right over." Phoebe hung up.

"What's wrong? Are you and the twins alright?" Phoebe asked as she ran into the house.

"They won't stop crying. I've feed them, burped them, held them. I can't take it." Prue said, handing Phoebe one of the wailing girls. "Take Jennifer."

"Jenny, stop crying please." Phoebe cooed. Jennifer, still learning the voices, stopped and listened. "That's a good girl. Prue, someone here needs a clean diaper."

"I can't believe that I forgot the diaper." Prue chastised herself while she helped Phoebe change the baby.

"When was the last time you got any sleep?" Phoebe asked, buttoning up Jennifer's sleeper.

"Today's, Monday so…" Prue yawned.

"Try Wednesday. I'll baby-sit, you go sleep."

"Wake me up if there's any problems." Prue headed for her long forgotten bed; the last sounds she heard were Phoebe reading to the girls.

"Prue, wake up Prue." Steve shook her gently.

"Huh? What's wrong? Where's Phoebe?" Her sleep-deprived brain went from a standstill to mother speed faster than her body could react. Her feet got tangled in the blankets and Prue tumbled out of bed. "Oh, that hurt." Prue rubbed her elbow.

"She left about half an hour ago, the girls are asleep and fine. You alright?" Steve handed her a glass of water.

"No, I'm not alright. I'm overwhelmed." Prue buried her face into Steve's chest. "I've never had to handle this kind of responsibility. I'm tired, hungry, I can't work, I can't sleep, and I feel all alone. And I just fell on me elbow." Prue wiped her eyes. "Am I going crazy?"

"Kids will do that to you, mom." Steve tried to joke. "Sure you don't want me to stay?"

"No, go to the conference and show off your new doodad."

Thursday April 8Th

"This mother stuff is harder than I thought." Prue exhaled to Piper. She was the one sister that Prue knew would understand her.

"You need to relax. Come here Melinda." Piper picked up her daughter. "You look like you're wearing half your lunch." She wiped off the pasta sauce.

"Relax, I can barely keep up with the twins. When do I have time to relax."

"I just meant that you need to have a little time for yourself. Why not have Steve watch the girls for awhile…"Prue cut her off.

"I don't have the luxury of an unemployed, stay at home husband." She broke down. "Leave, please."

"Not while you're this upset." Piper stood her ground. "I've seen this before. You've got the baby blues. I can…"

"Leave." Prue finished her sentence.

"Alright, but you know how to reach me if you want to talk."

Friday April 9th

"Shawn, I'm worried about Prue." He never looked up from his palmtop computer. "She shaved her head and joined a snake cult."

"We'll do a standard rescue and deprogram." Shawn was still looking over the numbers on his screen. "Where was she last seen?"

"Nowhere, just checking. She's gotten really depressed and withdrawn. Piper called yesterday and said that Prue snapped at her and threw her out. I'm going to go over there today."

"Tell her that I said 'Hi'. You want some body armor, in case she throws some knives at you." Shawn opened his cell phone. "Wolff, ya I got the numbers. I'll be in about 8:00. Prep her."

"Who?" Phoebe asked. She noticed that he had withdrawing into his work.

"No one." Shawn told her.

"Prue, You here Prue?" Phoebe said, not too loudly. Walking through the house, she noticed her nieces sleeping in the twin cribs set up in the first floor nursery.

"Prue?" Phoebe repeated a little louder

"Keep it down." Prue said harshly from the kitchen. "I finally got them to sleep."

"Sorry, I was worried about you. Piper said…"

"Piper talks too much." Prue snapped. "You don't think that I can handle being a mother either, do you?"

"I was…"

"Just leaving." Prue mentally opened the front door.

"What's up Phoebe." Shawn asked as he answered his private line.

"Prue threw me out of the house. I'm really worried." Phoebe was on the verge of tears.

"That's weird, think she has postpartum depression?" Shawn sipped his coffee. The line went dead. "Phoebe!" Shawn hit the speed. Busy. He waited then dialed the house again.

"Hello." She answered.

"Phoebe, what happened, the line went dead."

"Piper had the phone company do an emergency breakthrough, she said the demon tried to attack her."

"Why didn't she freeze it?"

"She said she tried, but her powers were barely working."

"Are her and Melinda all right?" Shawn was ready to bolt if he was needed.

"They're both shaken up, but unharmed. They're coming over here to the house."

"How did her power fail?"

"The power of 3 has weakened." Piper had picked up the other phone. "That's what the book had turned to when the demon attacked. Prue's withdrawing his weakened all our powers."

"Try to get her to reconsider position. I'll do I can." Shawn spoke to someone in the office. "Sorry I have to go."

"I love you Shawn." Phoebe said.

"I love you too."

That evening, Halliwell Manor

"What did the demon look like?" Phoebe asked piper.

"Big, hairy, six arms, claws. I was too worried about Melinda to ask his name." Piper began flipping through his **Book of Shadows**. "Here it is." She stopped flipping.

"BAD!!!!" Melinda screamed and mentally threw the book across the room. She then ran behind her mother and hid.

"I'd say that's a positive ID." Phoebe tried to joke. "We won't let that bad old demon anywhere near you, munchkin."

"There's a spell to vanquish the demon." Piper read, "Only one problem."

"What, blood sacrifice or something."

"Worse, the Power of Three." Piper said.

"Way big problem."

They looked at each other, "Prue."

"What do you want?" Prue looked like the walking dead.

"Nice to see you too." Piper replied. "Sorry."

"How you doing?" Phoebe asked.

"Don't ask. What do you need." Prue repeated.

"Your help." Piper answered. "Melinda and I were attacked today by an 'Eptay' demon. We need the power of three to defeat it."

"I'll have to think about it." One of the twins woke up and began to cry. "Damn it. I was hoping that they'd sleep longer."

Phoebe noticed the bandage on Prue's arm. "What happened?"

"The big pan fell out of the cabinet and caught my arm. I'm okay." They both knew Prue was lying.

10:00 PM

"Phoebe, I'm home." Shawn called out.

"Shh. Melinda's asleep. She and Piper are spending the night." She kissed her husband.

"Sorry I'm late. The lab guys were having a problem and I stayed to help. What's for diner?" Shawn walked into the kitchen. Phoebe noticed the smell of perfume on Shawn.

"We had lemon Pepper Fish, but Melinda had the last piece."

"Not a problem." Shawn pulled some cold cuts from the fridge.

"We were attacked by an 'Eptay' demon." Piper walked into the kitchen.

"Did you say Eptay?" Shawn stopped making his sandwich and looked Piper in the eyes.

"Ya, you know something about these guys?"

"I had to fight one, this was years ago. Back in my watcher days." Shawn grabbed a beer from the fridge and opened it. "The one I had to face was almost unstoppable."

"But you did defeat it?" Phoebe asked.

"Ya, all it took was a few thousand rounds of armor piercing shells and 100 gallons of high grade napalm. I had to use the shells to cut the demon to bits and then burn the leftovers."

"We need Prue." Piper said.

"Good luck. She's gone totally psycho." Phoebe broke the news to everyone.

"Well, give her some time; I've been through postpartum depression. This is something that she just needs to work out on her own." Piper chimed in.

Shawn was about to say something when his pager went off. He quickly read the text message. " I gotta get back to the office. Sorry to run." He was out the door.

Saturday April 10th,Early Morning

Shawn crept up the stairs, near the wall, to minimize noise.

"Is that you Shawn?" Phoebe rolled over in bed.

"Ya, sorry to wake you up. Problems at work." She was glad the lights were still off; he would have seen her give him the finger. "Let me get a shower and I'll join you, Mrs. Wolff."

"I have a headache."

"What's on the schedule for today?" Shawn asked as he turned on the water.

"We're hosting the cook-out around 3:00."

"Wake me up by 0900." Shawn stepped into the hot water.

"You want another burger? You're eating more than me." He joked with Melinda.

"No, this for aunt Prue." She held up the plate.

Slowly, Melinda navigated back to the picnic table where Prue had the twins.

"I got food. You eat."

"I'm sorry Melinda. I have to go." She grabbed the twin's car seats and headed for the driveway as fast as she could.

"She not like burgers?" Melinda set the plate down, and yelled at Prue. "Hot dog?"

Shawn's cell phone rang. "Alright, give me an hour. I gotta go too, emergency."

"Go then." Phoebe started cleaning up the table.

"That was harsh." Piper whispered as Shawn cleaned the grill.

"And? This is the weekend; we've been planning this for a month. Is it too much to ask for one day?"

"I'm sorry, I'll make it up to you." Shawn said as he shut the grill hood and headed towards his truck.

9:00 Sunday Morning

"Hey Pheebs, where's Shawn?" Piper asked. She poured two cups of coffee and set them on the counter. Phoebe had spent the night at the Manor.

"Who knows, who cares." She idly stirred her drink.

"Someone mention me?" Shawn walked into the kitchen. As he leaned over to kiss Phoebe, she turned her head.

"Where were you? I called your office four times yesterday and no one answered."

"I was in the lab. The R & D guys needed some help on a new design."

"All night!?" Phoebe stormed out of the kitchen.

"What's up with her?" Shawn poured himself some coffee.

"Nothing that an infidel would understand." Piper verbally dug into him.

"Is this because I'm not a practicing Catholic?"

Monday April 12th, 6:00 Am

"Shawn, turn off your alarm." Phoebe groaned as she rolled over to hit Shawn. She rolled all the way over to the offending clock. "Shawn?"

She got up and walked towards the hall bathroom.

"Go pee pee." Melinda said as she ran out of the bathroom.

"Piper, you have a half naked kid out here." Phoebe said to no one. "Who still hasn't learned to flush."

"Melinda, what did I tell you about the bathroom?" Piper asked the running child. She was walking up the stairs.

"Hungry!" Melinda ignored her mom.

"Shawn left some eggs on the stove, and the coffee's brewed." Piper told Phoebe. "And a note for you." She handed over the envelope.

Had an emergency at work. Be home when I can.

Shawn

"I've noticed that Shawn has been having a lot of emergencies at work lately." Piper said, trying to dress Melinda.

"What, you think he's cheating on me? He's may be" Phoebe said.

"Cheater bad." Melinda said. "No play fair."

"You want some breakfast?" Phoebe began tickling her niece.

"Food!" Melinda tried to run for the stairs. Piper caught her.

"What did I tell you about running on the stairs?"

"It bad." Melinda said. She started to cry. "I bad, mommy no love me."

"No sweetie, I love you so much that I don't want you to fall down the stairs and get hurt. Come here." Piper hugged her daughter.

"Sorry mommy." Melinda hugged her back.

"Let's go eat." Piper said to Melinda and carried her downstairs.

""What game Uncle Shawn cheat?" Melinda asked.

"The game of life." Phoebe answered.

"I get blue." Melinda broke into a laughing fit.

"Wrong game." Piper grinned.

Piper and Phoebe were sitting at the table, sipping coffee, and trying to figure out how to defeat the Eptay demon. Melinda was in the other room watching cartoons.

"How are we going to beat this thing without Prue?" Phoebe asked.

"We could ask Shawn to shoot it and burn it." Piper replied.

"You think he'll have the time? I mean, he's having all these emergencies at work," She wiped the single tear from her eye. "I smelled perfume on him the other night, and this morning he's gone early. He's out late the past couple of nights and no one can get him. He's been keeping something secret for a while." She broke down.

"I make it better." Melinda grabbed Phoebe's leg in a hug.

"Thank you munchkin, at least I know you still love me." She gave Melinda an orange slice.

"Welcome." The slice promptly disappeared into Melinda's mouth.

Securtech, About 11:45 am

"Shawn Wolff's office." The receptionist answered the call

"Shawn Wolff, please." Phoebe asked.

"He's with Pandora." She said mater-of-factly

"Who's Pandora?"

"Can't tell you. Who are you anyway?"

"I'm his wife, now if you want to keep your job past lunch, you will find him."

"Hold for transfer."

"Wolff."

"Who's Pandora?" Phoebe nearly yelled into the phone.

"No one. Honest." Shawn replied.

"Ya right." Phoebe slammed down the phone.

Lunchtime talks

"I lost her Willow." Shawn stared blankly at his salad.

"Who? Pandora?" Willow managed around her sushi.

"Phoebe, the one good thing in my miserable existence." Shawn paused, "I lost her because of Pandora."

"You sure?"

"She hung up on me today, after yelling at me. She all but accused me of infidelity."

"That sucks, you two made such a nice couple."

"Well maybe the watchers were right, no one will ever love a monster like me."

"Who knows."

That night, just after 2:00 am

"Give up?" The Eptay asked with a sneer.

Snorting, "I'm just getting warmed up." Shawn began another attack on the larger, more powerful demon. He was beyond caring what happened to himself. He wanted this demon's head on his wall.

The battle was raging when Piper and Phoebe drove past. They were out looking for the Eptay.

"Over there, that looks like our demon and some other demon fighting." Piper pointed out. Phoebe turned the car into the parking lot of the school.

"Looks like your garden variety of vampire. Let's try the spell and get this done with." Phoebe glanced at the spell.

"How many vampires wear Armani suits." Piper asked.

The witches began the chant and watched the light show. When it ended both combatants were still fighting, as if nothing had happened.

"We need Prue." They ran back to the car and left before the fighters noticed them.

Tuesday 8:00 am, Securtech

"Late night Shawn?" Willow asked as she walked into his office. She put the Drive-thru coffee and doughnuts on his desk. She noticed the black and blue marks on his face and the way he held his ribs.

"I never left last night." Shawn walked into his private bathroom.

"You need to talk to her."

"I tried, she hung up and won't answer the phone."

"Okay, you get yourself looking presentable, I'll start the meeting with Thicke Industrial."

"What would I do without you?" Shawn lathered his stubble. He coughed up some blood. "I might be a little late."

"Dear God, did you get checked by medical?" Willow asked.

"You know that I heal faster than anyone on this planet. All I need is a little rest and a bloody steak."

"You mean like this one?" Willow pulled a raw, blood-less steak from the trash can. "How many more have you had today?"

"Three more and a pack of ground beef. I'm just tired."

"You're nearly dead! I bet you went head-to-head with that Eptay demon and now you can't even walk upright. I'm calling Phoebe and putting an end to this mess." Willow picked up the phone.

"Shawn, I already told you that I don't want to ever see you again!" Phoebe never let Willow say anything.

"Told you." Shawn wished he were wrong this one time.

10:30 AM

"Hello." Phoebe answered the phone. The number came up Rosenberg, Willow on the ID display.

"Hey there, it's Willow. How you doing?"

"Don't ask, What do you want?" She snapped.

"Meet me for lunch at Quake, one hour. This is really important."

Quake, about 11:45

"Welcome to Quake, would you prefer to sit at the bar or on our spacious patio?"

"The Patio will be fine, I'm meeting someone."

"Sorry I'm late, I wasn't sure if I was gonna come." The two ladies were seated and ordered drinks.

"You said this was important, what is it?"

"I wanted to talk to you about Shawn."

"I'm outta here." Phoebe rose to leave.

"He still loves you." Willow needed her to stay.

"If he still loves me, why did he have another woman's perfume on his shirt, why is he always at the office, and who is Pandora?" Phoebe slumped back into her seat. Willow waited for the waitress to leave before continuing.

"That wasn't perfume on his shirt. Pandora is not a person and he's fighting an Eptay demon on his own." Willow pulled a palm size computer terminal out of her purse. "What I'm about to show you could get me fired." She punched in some commands and handed the unit over to Phoebe. She read the title page of the document.

Project: Pandora.

She continued on with the technical details and test results.

"Shawn's been working on a Postpartum anti-depressant?"

"Yes, and he spent last night in the office. He says he got in about 3 this morning. After going 15 rounds with the Eptay."

"He was the vampire we saw fighting that thing last night. Was he hurt?"

"Define 'hurt'" Willow replied.

"What do you mean?"

"Physically he's recovering, much slower than normal. Emotionally, he may never recover. I saw four steaks in his office. He doesn't usually need more than one." Willow sipped her wine. "Plus he said that he had a pound of ground meat. He claims that it just fatigue, but it's not. He literally got beaten to an inch of his life. He doesn't care anymore because he thinks you don't care about him. I'm just his friend, he needs more than a friend right now, he needs you. He needs someone to love. He's feeling alone right now. He thinks that he's lost you; he needs to know that you're still there."

Willow's pager went off.

"Ah hell." She threw a twenty on the table. "There is a crisis at the shop. Shawn's locked his office door and was babbling to himself."

Grabbing her purse, "Shawn gave me a code that can override the lock." Phoebe was one step behind.

"Sit Rep?" Willow yelled at the pointman as she and Phoebe ran up to Shawn's office door.

"We got him on the phone and talking, but he's incoherent and rambling."

"She has a code that can get us in." Willow said.

"Not us, me." Phoebe corrected. "I'm going in alone."

"No." Dyson, the point, responded. "We have an assault team ready to storm the room…"

"And do what? Get possibly into a firefight with a man who on the edge. How many of your team do you think he could get before you get him? He knows your operating procedures, hell, he wrote them. The windows are bullet resistant, so the sniper on the other roof is useless. I'm going in alone or no one goes in." She stood her ground.

"All right, but we've already wired the door to blow if it goes south." He motioned to the sym-tech plastic explosive on the door. "How did you know about the sniper?"

"For all his skills, Shawn can't type to save his life." Phoebe walked up to the door speaker. "The Ugly Duckling." The door unlocked and she entered quickly. She relocked the door.

"Shawn, it's Phoebe. Shawn, I'm the only one in here." She saw a mirror pop up from behind the desk.

"What are you doing here?"

"Trying to help. I made some mistakes the last few weeks. Willow told me about Pandora, about the Eptay and about your broken heart."

"I'm going to save you from ever having to worry about my faithfulness. Just walk out that door." She heard the hammer on his pistol click back. "No matter what you hear, don't look back. Just walk away."

"No, I turned my back to you enough these past few weeks. If you want to kill yourself, you're gonna have to do it with me in the room." Phoebe walked closer to the desk. "I'm loosing my sister to depression, don't make me a widow because of a misunderstanding."

She reached the side of the desk, and peered around the edge. Shawn was sitting on the floor, a gun in his hands; it was pointed at his forehead. She eased herself down next to him. He looked like hell, in her opinion. His hair was sweaty and matted down, there were bags under his eyes, and he smelled of yesterday's socks.

"Shawn, give me the gun." She slowly reached out and placed her hand on the pistol.

Shawn let the weapon slip from his hands. She quickly removed the clip and emptied the chamber.

"Shawn, do you want to talk?"

He broke down. She had rarely seen him cry before. "I…still…love… you." Shawn managed to get out before he passed out from exhaustion.

"I still love you too." She eased the big man to the floor. Phoebe slid the gun into the desk drawer before she picked up the phone. "I'm coming out, everything's fine."

"Where's Shawn?" Dyson asked.

"Passed out, too much work. I'm going to take him home. You can have him back in a few weeks. I need some help getting him to the car." The EMT's pushed past everyone carrying the stercher.

"Which car ma'am?" The one asked as they loaded Shawn on to the rolling table.

"Follow me. Willow, who's next in the chain?" Phoebe wanted to know.

"Max Booth, everyone back to work. We'll knock off at three instead of five." Willow dispersed the crowd. "Take care of him."

"You bet your life I will."

The Morning After

Shawn was sweating and mumbling in his sleep. Phoebe touched his forehead with a cool cloth. His eyes snapped open and he lunged forward. His movements were limited by the police grade handcuffs that held him to the bed.

"No!" He looked at Phoebe; "Thank God you're all right. I had a nightmare that you killed yourself, with my gun." He tried to hold her, but the chains held. "Why am I in handcuffs? You up for something a little kinky?"

"Um, Shawn, I um, had to take the gun from you." She brought him up to date. "I want to apologize; I thought that you were having an affair. I smelled the perfume on your shirt and with all the late nights and the secrets." She laid down next to her husband. "I'm sorry I ever doubted you."

After a few minutes Phoebe was pleasantly shocked to notice that Shawn had both his arms around her.

"Remind me to get a new pair of sunglasses tomorrow. I had to break the one pair to pick the lock." Shawn slowly stroked her side. "What time is it?"

"Some time after 8:00. Not sure exactly."

"I need to get ready for work." Shawn rose and walked into the bathroom.

"I had Willow lock out your access to the computers, even if you get past me, you can't get into the system. Not here, not at the office, not anywhere."

"Why?"

"You and me are going to fix this marriage." Shawn noticed that she was wearing the Kimono that had been given to her by a Japanese Industrialist as a thank you for showing his wife around the city. The red silk hugged her curves like a second skin.

"How?"

"First, join me in a bubble bath."

"Do you really want to be with a monster like me?"

She didn't answer with words; she slipped off the Kimono and pressed herself against Shawn. When she broke the kiss, she whispered, "Some monsters are good." Her one hand trailed around his waist and undid the first button on his boxers. "I need some help washing my back." Shawn needed no further encouragement; he quickly stripped off his shorts and followed.

"Get in this tub, you big hunk of man." Phoebe slid over to make room in the 2-person tub.

"Come here." Shawn pulled her closer. "I'm never letting go of you."

"I've been a paranoid bitch these last…" Shawn cut off the thought with a kiss.  
When the kiss broke, Phoebe needed a moment to compose herself.

"Does that mean you accept my apology?"

"It means there's nothing to apologize for. I should have told you about Pandora." The phone rang in the other room. "Leave it, that's why we bought the machine." They started kissing again.

"Shawn, it's Ryan Miller. I hate to call you at home with something so petty, but Willow is blocking my Pandora access. Call me at the office when you get a chance." The connection severed.

"Remind me to call and yell at him. He isn't on the Pandora research team. He shouldn't need access to the files." Shawn started to wash Phoebe's back.

"How about after lunch?"

"How about that new Italian Restaurant on Seventh street?" Shawn began kissing his wife.

"This is so good, you should try it." Phoebe stuck a fork full of Shrimp Alfredo into Shawn's mouth.

"Not bad, you should try real Italian food." He sipped his white wine. "I know this great little café' outside Rome, great food… Damn." His pager cut him off. He quickly scanned the message. "Later, I'm eating."

"Problem?"

"Ya, I'll deal with it later." He turned the device off and motioned for the waiter.

"Yes, Sir." The waiter seemed bored and uninterested.

"Please put this infernal thing in my jacket, here's the claim number." Shawn scribbled it down on a business card.

"Sir, I am the head of wait staff, not an errand boy."

"Then go wait." Shawn dismissed him with a wave of his hand. "Frank." He called for the maitre d'.

"Yes, Sir?"

"I asked your waiter over there to put this in my jacket. He told me that he wasn't an errand boy."

"I'm very sorry. I'll take care of this right away." He read the card, "Mr. Wolff." His eyes almost popped out of his head. He took the pager and motioned for the waiter to follow. The maitre d' could be heard yelling at the waiter from the coatroom.

"How is it that you have all this power?" Phoebe was still amazed by the way people reacted to Shawn.

"Money gives the illusion of power." Shawn told her.

"And how much power do you have?"

"At last tax filing, about 300 million. That's just personal worth, not company profit."

"I'd say your worth more than that." She leaned over to kiss him.

"Miller." He answered.

"Ryan, it's Shawn. What access? You're not on the Pandora team. You don't need to see the files."

"Well, I've been getting updates and test data."

"Only because you're the FDAliaison. If I have to cut my vacation short, one of us will be unhappy and one of us will be unemployed." Shawn hung up before Miller could react.

"Problem solved?" Phoebe asked from the couch. They wanted to try out the new Home Theater system. They had gotten several DVDs when they bought it; 'Dracula 2000' would be the first one played. Shawn eased in behind Phoebe and snuggled close.

"Should be, did I miss grandpa yet?"

"I still don't believe you're related to him. Or that Dracula even exists." She leaned back into her husband. "You should take a vacation more often."

"I do work too much. Hold that thought." He hit the speakerphone, "Dial Willow office." He used the voice activated dialing feature.

"Hello."

"Willow, Shawn. How's everything going?" He made small talk.

"You're supposed to be on vacation, go spend some time with Phoebe, before I try to steal her from you." She ordered.

"Hi Will. He is."

"Hi, Pheebs. What's up?"

"I was just wondering what's your title?" Shawn inquired.

"Assistant to the Vice President of Computer Sciences."

"Not anymore."

"Are you firing me? After everything I've done for you, you fire me. You ungrateful bastard."

"Actually I was going to promote you. How does Assistant Vice President of operations sound? Now if Miller gives you any grief, you can tell him where to go. I'm going to fast track it through Human Resources."

"Now I feel bad about cussing you out." She apologized, "Miller's been on my ass all day. He thinks that he's in charge since Booth is out golfing."

"Booth is where?"

"Well, by now he should be on the 19th green."

"You my move up another rung on the corporate ladder. Transfer me to Sheila."

"Human Resources."

"Sheila, Shawn. I want a promotion ready for my signature for Willow. Right now it's to the new position of Assistant Vice President of operations, but if Booth is out golfing, she might become the new vice President of operations"

"I can see his car pulling in right now. Clubs are in the back seat." She loved her window office.

"Do it. Have him call me when he gets in."

"Alright."

"Shawn, you're vacation. Stop running the company." Phoebe didn't like being ignored.

"Give me one minute." He took the call and handled the avid golfer. "Time?"

"47 seconds. Still got the touch."

"I'll show you a touch."

Wednesday Night

"Prue!" Phoebe screamed out.

"What's the matter?" Shawn's mind was running up to full speed faster than his body.

"I saw Prue sticking her head into the oven." She jumped out of bed and started for the door.

"Honey, you need some clothes." He thought for a moment, "Isn't her oven electric?"

"Okay, I'll get Piper. We're going to need her help." Phoebe heard a knock at the door. "You expecting someone?"

"That should be Steve. I had him flown back due to her deteriorating mental health." Shawn grabbed an injection gun.

"What's that for?" Phoebe asked as she pulled on a tee shirt.

"For the one dose of Pandora I have." He loaded the syringe and prepped the gun.

"I thought you said that Pandora was still in stage one trials."

"It is, but I got special permission for one human trial, Prue." He carefully set the injector down and removed the clip from his sidearm.

"What are you doing with that thing?"

"Tranquilizer darts. If Pandora fails or gets destroyed, this is Plan B."

"What about a second dose?"

"We only had the one ready and Willow dropped that off tonight. She told me that there would be a second dose ready by midnight, but it's at the lab."

"Would we have the time for you to go get it?" Phoebe picked up the phone; she knew him well enough to read his face. Shawn let Steve in.

"Hi Piper, ya I know what time it is. It's time to go get Prue out of the abyss. I had a vision and she's trying to kill herself. Meet us at her house."

"What… do…. You …want?" Prue was sobbing. "Why can't you just leave me alone?" She tried to slam the door, but it wouldn't move.

"Sorry, I melted the hinges. We need to talk." Piper started for the door.

"Go away! I just want… to… be… alone! That's what I am, alone! Steve ran off to the convention, he's probably nailing some 19-year-old bimbo. Phoebe's too concerned about her husband to help me and you think I'm a bad mother." Prue was yelling at the top of her lungs.

"Why didn't you tell me that you needed help?" Steve pushed past everyone. "I would have stayed."

"You were too busy with the new medical thing and the conference and everything else in your perfect little life, you didn't even notice me." She burst into tears. One of the twins started to cry. "I have to go." She turned around and walked right into Shawn. Acting quickly, he stuck the injector to her neck and triggered the dose.

Prue's scream was something out of a jungle. She mentally flung Shawn across the room and two long bread knives lodged themselves into his shoulders. He looked like a bug about to be dissected in some High School biology class.

The group watched as the injector hit the floor. Glass exploded, but there was no Pandora; it was all in Prue.

"Shawn!" Phoebe ran over to him; while, Steve helped a groggy Prue to the couch.

"When did you get here?" Prue asked in a singsong voice.

"A few minutes short of too late." He held her tightly. "This is not a pretty picture."

"You want glossy or matte finish on those?" Prue was out of it.

"I love you, Aunt Prue." Melinda jumped on the couch and hugged her.

"I love you too. Good night Melinda." Prue collapsed onto the couch.

"Night night." Melinda laid down next to Prue and was soon asleep.

"What's in that stuff?" Steve asked as he bandaged Shawn's shoulder.

"Synthetic female hormones, the type and level found in a pregnant woman." Shawn tried to ignore the pain in his shoulders. "I also added a small amount of sedative. She must be exhausted for it to work that fast."

"Phoebe, Help me with the twins." Piper headed for the nursery.

"Steve stay with Prue." Phoebe got up to follow.

"She's out cold. Shawn needs me more." He started treating the knife wounds. "How do we get these out without major surgery?"

"She caught me low, in the fleshy part of the pectoral" Shawn grasped the handles and clenched his teeth. "First we, break the shaft", he snapped the handles from the blades, "and then walk right off the wall." Shawn pushed off and the blades slid through the holes already there. Steve carefully and quickly covered the gapping hole with clean bandages.

Thursday Morning

"What a night." Piper sighed.

"Tell me about it." Shawn was still awake, much to Steve's chagrin, although he was sitting on the floor. He had already drained the blood off of two raw steaks, but still looked weak. "Steve, we need a blood sample from Prue." He held up a syringe.

"On it."

"Bad Aunt Prue, It not nice to hurt people." Melinda woke up as Steve drew the sample. She looked at the sleeping woman.

"It's all right munchkin. Uncle Shawn snuck up behind her and she got scared and it was an accident."

"Hi guys." Willow walked in. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Prue reacted and got me with a knife. Here's the sample, I need the results yesterday." Shawn motioned for Steve to hand the syringe over.

"I brought the mobile lab with me." She walked out to the box truck.

"Good morning everyone." Prue stretched. "I had the weirdest dream last night. You stuck me with a needle and I…" She saw the bloody stains on the walls and the blades still lodged in the paneling. "Really did stick a knife in you." She started to tear up.

"Two actually. Relax, you missed all the important stuff." Steve sat down next to her. "How you doing?"

"I feel a million times better, but I can't shake these memories from the last few weeks. I was really messed up." Prue accepted the cup of tea from Piper. "Thank you."

"Here's the results." Willow handed over the graphs.

"Prue what you have on this sheet is a normal woman's hormone level charted of the course of her cycle. See how the levels stay within this range?" She nodded. "Here is a postpartum non-depression woman. Levels are a little out of tilt, but acceptable. This is a depressed woman: hormone levels are low across the board. This is you: You have no readable levels of any female hormones, besides what I put in you last night. The only ones you have are prolactin, cortisol and aldosterone. That's what causes depression." Shawn showed her the charts.

"Will I have to take this stuff for the rest of my life?" Prue's voice had a nervous edge to it.

"Most likely no, your body should begin producing these hormones on its own." Shawn put the charts away. "I also recommend a few weeks at somewhere relaxing. This is after one more night at the lab."

"What did you say? You want me to run out on my family?"

"More like a mini vacation, sort of like recharging your batteries." Phoebe interjected.

"All, all right. What do I need to bring?"

"One set of clothes for day and night." Shawn paused, "I'm not sure how long you need to pack."

Thursday, April 29th

"Hello, my little girls," Prue picked up both of the twins. "Were you two good for daddy?" Jennifer and Julie smiled toothlessly at their rejuvenated parent. "Have you guys eaten yet?"

"We were going to grill when Shawn gets home." Piper replied.

"I want to go out, my treat." Prue sat down between the twins and started to play with them.

"Sounds good to me, where you want to go?" Shawn walked in the door.

"I tried to get reservations at Jala Rue." Prue hung her head, "But the wait is two weeks."

"Table for nine?" Shawn pulled out his cell phone.

"How can you get a table?" Piper was confused.

"My people rescued the owners wife from a kidnapper a few months back." Shawn made the reservations.

"I would like to say a few words." Prue stood up. "First, thank you all for watching the girls while I was away. Second, thank you for putting up with me. I still don't believe that I acted that way." She had to compose herself. "Finally, I wanted to thank two very special people, for reminding me what's really important." She leaned over to the twin's level. "Thank you, for just being you." She kissed them both and they started laughing and screaming.

"Could you keep your brats quiet over there? Some of us are trying to eat." An overweight patron said from four tables over. Julie then Jennifer began to cry. Prue tried to settle them down again.

"You look like you could wait a few minutes to eat." Shawn shot back.

"If you can't keep them quiet, I can."

Shawn and Prue both stared at the man. Shawn spoke first, "You will not touch these girls."

"Do you know who I am?" The guy got into Shawn's face. While Shawn was not a small man, this aggressor towered over him.

"Mike Justice, starting left tackle for the 49'ers. You allowed six sacks through your position last season. After holding out for a new contract."

"You want to see my Superbowl ring close up?" He waved his fist under Shawn's eye.

"Very nice." He took a step back. "How's the knee injury?"

"What knee injury?" Mike asked.

Shawn's left foot shot out and clipped the outside of Justice's right knee. "That one."

"You asshole!" He was rolling on the floor holding his leg.

"I just hit a pressure point. A little ice and some rest you'll be fine. Next time, I will not be so forgiving." Shawn returned to the table. "Have we decided what we're having?"

"How about some cracked ribs?" Prue said, sounding totally serious.

"I think Melinda wants the broken chicken fingers and the mashed potatoes." Piper laughed.

"Pizza!" Melinda yelled.

"I was being funny, you little stinker." Piper tickled her daughter.

"That was a great dinner. You okay Prue?" Steve asked as they put the girls to bed. "You seem really quiet."

"Hold me, just hold me." Prue wrapped her arms around him. She started to tear up. "Tell me I'm a good person."

"What's going on?" Steve looked at her.

"I keep having these flashbacks to that other Prue, the psycho one."

"That was a medical condition. That wasn't you." Steve tried to explain.

"Are you sure? I mean, I did some really terrible things." She was bordering on hysterics "I said stuff and I tried to kill Shawn and I was just evil."

"You did the best you could with the resources you had. I didn't make things any easier for you with the conference and the late nights. If you want, I can set you up with a counselor, but only if you want."

"Thank you." Prue and Steve stood there, holding each other. After a few minutes, she kissed him softly.

"You are so very welcome." Steve kissed her back.

The phone interrupted them.

"This better be really important." Prue said.

"How does the fate of your daughters sound?" Piper asked.

"You have my complete attention."

"I heard something in the attic and when I got there, the book was open to a page about charmed twins." Piper paused, "It said that twins of a charmed one are even more powerful than their mother. But they are also more susceptible to turning to evil."

"So we just keep them away from evil." Prue wanted to get back to her husband.

"Why do you think that Eptay demon is after them?"

"We need to get Phoebe." Prue replied.

The three people met outside of Shawn and Phoebe's house; the front door was smashed in.

"Shawn! Phoebe!" Piper ran into the house. Steve and Prue were right behind her.

They found Shawn unconscious on the living room floor.

"Shawn, wake up Shawn." Steve began treating the injured man.

"Phoebe?" He said weakly.

"Who are you?" Steve shown a penlight into Shawn's eyes.

"Steve get that thing outta my face." He managed a sitting position. The room spun wildly; he had to shut his eyes.

"What happened." Prue ran up the stairs.

"Eptay sucker punched me, all three rights." Steve looked at him confused.

"He hit you three times?" He asked.

"No the demon has six arms, three on each side." Shawn explained.

"Here's a note." Piper picked up the parchment. "Bring the twins to the Pope Street park 10 PM or she gets mailed back in pieces. No cops."

"This is not good," Prue said.

"Phone." Shawn held out his hand. "Dial Q."

"Weapons Master." A woman's voice stated.

"Annie, Shawn, I need the 45."

"Your exo-suit isn't ready, won't be for another two weeks."

"I'll risk it. Phoebe got kidnapped and I can't risk the cops, or hostage rescue."

"This thing could rip your arm off."

"I know, but if things go as I plan, I'll never have to fire it. Just in case, I'll need ten Armor piecing rounds." Shawn hung up.

"What's a 45?" Steve asked.

"It's part of a joint project with the army to develop a prototype weapons system. It involves a robot-like suit that can be equipped with state of the art weapon, sensors, communication gear, any option we want. The gun I requested is a 45 millimeter rifle; the only way to safely fire that weapon is with the suit."

"You are not risking your life on a cannon." Prue stood her ground. "We'll find another way."

"Like I told her, if things go well, I'll never have to fire that thing."

Half an hour later Willow and Annie pulled up in a mini-van. The company's logo, three lighting bolts meeting in a point, was on the side.

"Shawn, give us a hand with this." Annie opened the hatchback. "One 45 millimeter rifle, ten rounds of armor piercing ammunition. Sign here." She handed him a clipboard.

"Is it equipped with the laser designator and the flash suppresser?"

"The laser is hooked up, but we didn't have time to fit the flasher suppresser."

"Good enough. Willow, if something happens, you're in charge." Shawn handed her and envelope.

"No, I'm just a caretaker, you're the boss." Willow said as the two women got back into the van.

"Car in the shop?" Shawn asked.

""Ya, Annie's giving me a ride home." Willow replied.

"Willow, She lives in Oakland." Shawn moved towards the passenger side window.

"I didn't say my home." Willow grinned as they backed out and drove off. Shawn had to smile, after all her problems in relationships Willow found someone.

"What on Earth are these for?" Prue picked up one of the shells. It was about a foot long and as big around as a pop can.

"These are for anti-tank weapons; I figured that the Eptay has a thick hide that can stop almost any blade or forged weapon, I needed something this big." He picked up the rifle and removed the bolt assembly. "This model of gun is a prototype; the one used in the exo-suit will have selectable fire rates. We went through four or five test models before we got one that could withstand the fire pressure. This little piece of metal has to withstand the recoil of one kilogram of high-grade smokeless powder going off. That's equal to…" Shawn paused to consider the point. "Hitting the front bumper of your car right on your shoulder."

"How fast is the car going?" Steve asked.

"About 35 miles an hour." Shawn stated matter of factly.

Pope Street Park, 9:55

Prue parked her van, with the twins, near the picnic shelter and turned to Piper.

"Promise me this. If anything happens, tell Phoebe that I love her and the I'm really sorry for the way I treated her." Prue broke down.

"Only if you do the same." The two sisters were scared. They really didn't know if they would all make it through this ordeal.

"Lets get this over with." Prue opened her door and walked around to the side door; opening it, but leaving the sleeping girls inside.

"Eptay! Show yourself." Piper called out.

"You brought the twins. Good. Your sister is on the table over there. You," It pointed to Piper, "Bring me the twins!"

"When we get Phoebe over here." Prue walked over to the unconscious sister. "Pheebs, wake up." Prue tapped her cheek.

"Which truck hit me?" Phoebe was groggy.

"Can you stand?" Prue helped her to her feet. "We need to get over to the van."

"You have your sister, I want the twins!" The demon roared.

"No." Prue pressed the lock button on her key chain. The door slid shut and locked. "That van is now airtight, no one gets in. Ready?"

The three witches began the spell. A light show more intense than before swirled around the demon, but nothing happened.

"I became immune to that spell when it didn't work last time." He laughed and advanced on the van.

"Plan B!" Piper yelled.

"Plan B?" The Eptay stopped and wondered. A flash of light on the hillside caught its attention. It turned at the last second; A hole about the size of a CD suddenly appeared in the demon's middle shoulder, the severed arm fell to the ground. It clutched the bloody stump, howling in pain. The scream was cut off in mid stream. Shawn's second round detonated the demon's head.

"Shawn, you got it." Piper got no response, "Shawn?"

Silence.

"What was that and where is Shawn?"

"That was a 45 millimeter round, Shawn is on the hillside. He's probably hurt, he didn't answer the radio."

"Let's get up there." Phoebe almost fell trying to get to the van.

"Shawn?" Piper yelled. The three sisters were searching the hillside for the injured man. He had concealed himself too well.

"The flash was right around here, so…" Prue, taking a few steps to her left, tripped over something. "What the hell?" She looked under the green camouflage blanket. "Found him!"

"Is he all right?" Phoebe ran over to her husband. "Shawn, can you hear me?"

"Did I get him?" Shawn could barely be heard.

"Yes you did." Prue answered. "Lets get you to the hospital."

"No, too many questions. Home." Shawn passed out from the pain.

"Should we get Willow and have the surgical team on stand-by." Phoebe asked.

"Shawn did bust up his shoulder pretty bad." Prue tried to keep him from going into shock. "Shawn, Shawn, keep your eyes open." She tapped his cheeks.

Piper looked up at the sky, "Leo!"

"Yeah, honey. Oh, him." He looked at Shawn with mild disgust.

"Yeah, him. Can you do something for him?" Phoebe asked as she cradled the wounded man.

"I have to check on that." He orbed out.

"I wish he would just call them or something." Prue was losing the fight to keep Shawn awake.

"They said okay, but this is not going to be a regular thing with me." Leo orbed in and began to heal Shawn.

"Thanks man. I needed that." Shawn sat up. "Leo, you fused the joint together." Shawn tried to move his shoulder.

"Sorry." He touched the immobile joint again.

"Much better."

"See you at home." Leo kissed Piper.

"That sounds like a good idea." Prue started for the van.

"I never did ask, but how does this thing handle?" Shawn climbed in the back by the twins.

"The steering's a little stiff and the acceleration is slow, but once you get up to speed, it handles great." Prue started the small block V-8. "Plus the girls love the DVD player."

Monday May 17th

Willow had the driver park in front of Shawn's house. She figured that she would need all the time she could get to bring him up to speed on the company. She would miss the driver and the armored SUV, but wouldn't miss the long hours and stress of running the company.

She thumbed the send button on her two way phone, "Shawn, we're out front."

"Be out in a minute." Shawn sounded out of breath.

Willow waited five more minutes then thumbed the send again. "Before or after the New Year?"

"Stuff it Willow." Phoebe playfully shot back.

"Shawn doesn't have the right equipment for me." Willow laughed, "But if you're offering Pheebs."

"Not this week." Phoebe answered.

Willow waited, ideally thinking of her new love. She missed Oz, but her heart had belonged to Tara. When Tara had been killed in front of her, she had lost it; nearly destroying the world. She quickly wiped the tear from her eye. Shawn knew what had happened, but never asked about it. She noticed that Shawn was coming down the walk, a spring in his step.

"Good vacation?"

"Can you take the helm for one more week?" Shawn joked. "I haven't felt this good in years."

"One more week and you'll have to talk me out of eating a bullet."

"That bad?"

"Just everyone wanted approval for this and that. Some I Okayed, some I denied, most I put on hold until you had a chance to see them."

"I trust your judgement, that's why I left you in charge." Shawn looked over the paper she had brought. "Approved, approved, denied. What's this project?"

"A computer systems upgrade, we get a standardized system across the whole network and…" She went on for a few minutes in techno-babble.

"Your idea?" Shawn knew that she had wanted a new system to play with.

"Guilty, but I got bids from a couple of suppliers and this one," She pulled out a spreadsheet, "Would be the most economical and give us the best system for the money."

"How long did you plan this speech?"

"Day after you left."

"Run with it." She looked over some more numbers, "Did we get the new figures on Prue yet?"

"Everything looks good, as far as the doctors can tell, Pandora is a success." Willow was beaming.

"We still need a few more test runs, but the FDA should green light them once they see the data."

"They already have, last week, they approved the test proposal starting today, we just need the volunteers."

"I see I chose well with my interim manager." Shawn laughed. "Did you bring the items I requested?"

"Are you sure you want to do this? It's an almost permanent solution." Willow asked.

"I know, that's why I want to do this. The madness has to stop."

Sunday February 27th

"Smile for daddy." Steve walked around with the digital camcorder pointed at the girls.

"Steve, they're a year old, let them eat their cake." Prue poked him in the ribs.

"Well, they are definitely two separate people." Shawn noted. Julie was slowly eating her cake with one hand; while, Jennifer was diving in with both hands.

"When's Leo supposed to show?" Phoebe asked Piper as she helped pass out cake.

"Whenever he gets the time." She replied. Phoebe didn't press the issue. Things had been getting more and more stranded between Piper and Leo.

"I Hope things work out, you two make a great couple."


End file.
